Worlds Collide
by Pantherheart
Summary: Laura Hollis is an average teenage girl. That is, until she is saved from a what-would-be kidnapping. And her savior is a mysterious dark haired girl named Carmilla Karnstein, who can, somehow, turn into a giant black cat. Laura discovers something about herself and learns that the world around you isn't always what it seems. *I wrote this for my Creative Writing class at school!*
1. Chapter 1: The Savior

I was twelve when I was introduced to the _Harry Potter_ series. I had found _The Sorcerer's Stone_ in my school's library. The librarian had taken one look at the book and asked, dead serious, "Are you sure? That's a pretty advanced book for a kindergartener."

I had looked her in the eyes and said, "I'm twelve years old."

She hadn't believed me and had called the main office to confirm that I was, in fact, as old as I said I was. It didn't please me, but I honestly wasn't surprised. Let's face it. I'm short. I know. At twelve years old, I looked like I was five. It sucks, believe me.

Anyway, once the librarian finally let me take out the book, I took it home and finished it within a few hours. I loved it—the characters, the idea of magic, all of it. I had finished the entire series—including _The Deathly Hallows_ —within a week. My father had encouraged my love of the series and ever since then I've loved the idea of magic.

I always loved pretending to be a witch and every year for Halloween, I was a _Harry Potter_ character. One year, it was Hermione. Another year, I was Luna Lovegood. And yet another, I even dressed up as The Deathly Hallows—the Invisibility Cloak, the Ressurection Stone, and the Elder Wand.

I loved pretending to be a part of the "supernatural" world.

However, I never thought it could actually exist. Or, even if it was real, that I would be a part of it.

But one day, my whole life was turned upside down. All my beliefs about the world around me were proved to be wrong.

That was the day I learned the truth. That was the day I learned that I, Laura Hollis, have super powers.

* * *

It started out as normal day. I woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and left for school at 7:30 AM. I live only a mile of so away from the school, so it doesn't take too long to get there. At least… not usually. That morning, however, was a little different.

I was about half-way to school when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise and an uneasy feeling come over me.

I sped up a little and that's when I heard it. Foot steps. Behind me. Someone was following me. I spared a glance behind me and that's when I started to run.

Because what I saw was possibly the scariest man I've ever saw in my entire life. He was wearing an all black uniform with heavy looking black boots. He had dark sunglasses covering his eyes and on his chest, I could see a badge that said Corvae, Inc.

I didn't know what Corvae was at the time, but I could feel it. Evil. Whatever—or whoever—Corvae was, I knew they weren't volunteers at the local animal shelter. That's for sure.

But the badge was not what scared me (though it is pretty creepy). What scared the hell out me was the gun at the man's belt.

As I continued to run, I heard the man's footsteps speed up behind me. And they were getting closer.

Suddenly, I saw a streak of black fly from a tree over my head. And then I heard a yell of surprise. I skid to a stop and turned to look behind me. There was the Corvae man. And he was fighting… a giant black cat?

I saw the cat swipe at the man's face. He jumped back, just barely missing the cat's thorn sharp claws. The jet black feline dropped down on all fours. It growled and lounged at the man. His eyes widened and he ducked and rolled out of the way. The cat landed swiftly and whipped around. The man jumped back up and faced the cat. They started at one another, sizing each other up.

That's when it happened. The cat started ot shrink and shift. And then it was a girl. She was dressed in leather pants, a black t-shirt and a leather vest. Her dark chestnut curls cascaded down her shoulders. She had pale skin and sharp cheekbones. She was beautiful.

I was broken out of my daze when the Corvae man whipped out his gun and aimed it at the girl. A rage came over me. I felt a connection to this girl. I couldn't explain it. I felt the strong need to protect her. But I don't even know her name! it was strange, but the idea of protecting this girl just felt… right.

I felt something deep inside of me snap.

 _I have to do something,_ I screamed in my head. _I can't just let him shoot her!_

That's when I realized. I _was_ doing something. I noticed then that there was a mist surrounding my entire body. And it was… moving. Towards her. Towards the girl.

She must've noticed it, too. Because she glanced at me. Her eyes met mine for a second. And I felt my breath catch in my throat. Her eyes were a deep shade of brown—like dark chocolate. There was a sense of mystery in them. It was endearing.

The girl looked away from me, back at the Corvae man. He was still pointing the gun. He hadn't noticed the mist. Or… maybe he couldn't see it?

"You!" the Corvae man growled at the girl. His gun was still pointed at her. The mist now surrounded both of the girl and I. I felt my racing heartbeat calm a little bit, knowing, somehow by instinct, that this mist would protect her. Would protect both of us.

"Me," the girl responded nonchalantly.

"Who are you?!"

"You mean you don't know?" the girl drawled, raising an eyebrow.

"No," the man hissed. "I don't."

"Wow, that's a first." She smirked. "Carmilla Karnstein ring a bell, Fresh Meat?"

The man's mouth gaped in surprise. "You- You're- You're Carmilla Karnstein?"

The girl—Carmilla—rolled her eyes. "Well, don't you catch on fast!" she snarked.

I snickered in amusement.

"But-" the man stuttered. "But- You- Corvae said you were dead-"

"They have no respect, I swear," Carmilla muttered.

"-and- And they said- They said you died in a car accident!"

Carmilla snorted. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, Beefcake, but as you can clearly see… I'm very much alive. And, just so you know, it takes more that a car accident to get rid of me."

She shifted back into her panther form and lounged at the man's throat. I saw the man ready the gun to shoot, but before he could pull the trigger, Carmilla was on him. The gun flew out of his hand and landed a few feet away from them.

I saw Carmilla's jaws open, revealing gleaming razor-sharp fangs. I winced and turned away. Based on the noises I heard, it was not a quick end for the man.

I heard Carmilla shift back to her human form and pick up the gun. Her heavy combat boots thudded on the ground as she walked toward me.

I felt my body relax as the adrenaline slowly seeped out of me. I felt the mist I snap back to me—like a rubber band—so that it no longer surrounded us.

I heard Carmilla talking on her phone as she walked toward me: "Hey, LaF. I've got another Corvae. He's dead. I swear, they're training them to be stupider and stupider these days." Silence as the person on the other side, LaF, spoke. "No, LaFontaine, you cannot do experiments on the dead body of a Corvae agent. I've told you this before." More silence. "Why? Because, LaFon _pain_ , no one wants a zombified body—let alone, that of a Corvae agent!" Again, silence. I heard Carmilla sigh. "Fine. Whatever. Goodbye." She hung up.

"Okay, LaFonbrain will be here in a few minutes to… pick us up. And the body. I don't recommend turning around. Unless, of course, you want to see Corvae agent guts."

I nodded and bit my lip. "Okay."

Carmilla was standing beside me now. "Hey, Cupcake," she said.

"My name's Larua," I informed her.

"I know." She paused. " _Cupcake_." I could practically _hear_ the smirk on Carmilla's face.

I rolled my eyes and I heard Carmilla chuckle. We stood there, not saying anything, for a few minutes.

Carmilla broke the silence. "Thanks, by the way."

I turned to look at her.

"For the shield thing," she clarified. _Ah,_ I thought, _the mist._

"You're welcome."

"It was pretty good, Cupcake."

I smiled at her. "Thanks. You were pretty good yourself. And thanks for saving me. I'm not sure I would've stood much of a chance against him on my own."'

"Oh, you would've lasted a little while." Carmilla smirked. "Like- five seconds."

I smacked her shoulder playfully. "I would last longer than five seconds! My Dad made me learn Krav Maga, you know."

"Yeah, you're right."

I looked at her in surprise. _Did she just… agree with that?_

"You'd last… ten seconds," Carmilla said.

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks."

"Anything for my little Cupcake."

My heart skipped a beat at that and I blushed. Carmilla smirked.

I was saved from further embarrassment when a helicopter landed on the road beside us.

A person in a white lab coat got out. "Hey, there, LaFonbrain," Carmilla greeted them.

"Hey, Karnstein. Who's this?" They were looking at me.

"This," Carmilla said, putting her arm around my shoulders. "Is Laura Hollis."

"You found her?" LaFontaine asked excitedly.

"Found me?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah! We've been looking for you for a few months." LaF explained. "You were pretty hard to find, Hollis."

"Why… Why would you need to find me?" I asked, a little confused.

"You remember the thing you did with the mist?" Carmilla asked. I nodded. "Well… You're a power. And we've been looking for you so that we could bring you to Silas University. It's a school where people like us can learn how to control our powers."

It was a lot to take in. All I could think to say was, "Ok."

Carmilla chuckled. "Now, come on, Cutie. I'll explain more on the ride to Silas."

Silently, I followed Carmilla onto the helicopter. LaFontaine was already in the cockpit. They had apparently loaded the Corvae man's body onto the helicopter. I really didn't want to know where exactly they put it.

* * *

We had been flying for about an hour when I realized something. "Oh, no."

Carmilla, who had been looking out the window, turned to me. "What? What is it?" she asked, concerned.

"I'm going to have to explain all of this to my Dad."

"Yeah." Carmilla's voice was quiet, tentative. "But… Umm… I- I can help you if you want."

"I think I might like that very much."

Carmilla's hand found mine and she laced our fingers together. She smiled at me. A genuine smile. "We'll make it through this, Laura. Together."

I returned her smile and squeezed her hand. "Together."


	2. Chapter 2: Silas

The first thing I noticed upon getting out of the helicopter, were the students. There were a lot of them. And each had their own uniqueness. Some had wings. Others had horns. I saw one girl on the soccer field who was covered in scales and had what looked to be a dragon's tail, which she was using to keep the other players from getting the ball. She made shot after shot at the goalie, who missed every one of them. And then there were students who looked normal—perfectly human. That is, until you saw the fire sprouting from their fingertips or their eyes change color.

"Welcome to Silas University, Cupcake. School for the people society deems freaks and weirdos." I turned to see Carmilla walking towards me. I had been so busy watching the people around me, I hadn't noticed her get off the helicopter.

I chuckled. Carmilla stood beside me, watching the students playing soccer in the field. "You know," Carmilla said. "That dragon-tailed girl is dominating the game. No one's going to beat her. I don't know why the others haven't given up yet."

"It's unethical?" I suggested.

Carmilla scoffed. "Ethics are ridiculous game played by children who think they can oppose order in an arbitrary universe."

"Yeah, but what can you do, but try?"

Carmilla was about to respond, when she was interrupted by LaFontaine, who was still inside the helicopter. They stuck their head out the doorway. "Hey,Frosh! Karnstein!"

We turned to look at them. "A little help for a second?"

I glanced at Carmilla, who just shrugged and started walking back to the helicopter. I followed after her.

When we got there, we saw LaF trying to take down a heavy looking black bag from the shelf above the passenger seats Carmilla and I had sat in on the way here.

LaFontaine looked at us expectantly. "Help me get this down!"

We made our way over to them and grabbed a hold of the bag. Together, we hauled it off the shelf and set it down gently on the floor.

"What is this thing, anyway," I asked, curiously eyeing the black bag at our feet.

"It's the Corvae guy," LaF said casually.

Carmilla and I jumped back in surpirse. "WHAT?!" I exclaimed.

"You put the body of the Corvae agent… _that I killed…_ in a bag above our heads?!" Carmilla seethed.

"Uh… Yeah. Why? It's not like it would've fallen or anything. You guys were fine."

Carmilla rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something—probably a sarcastic comment, but I interrupted her before she could: "It's the principle of the thing, LaF!"

"Yeah, yeah," they said dismissively. "Now help me get this to my laboratory."

* * *

After bringing the Corvae agent's body—or, the specimen, as LaF liked to call it—to their laboratory for "research," Carmilla offered to show me around campus.

It was around lunch time, so we decided to go to the cafeteria first. Carmilla led me down a series of hallways, filled with twists and turns. I swear, this place is like a labyrinth. I didn't know how I'd make my way around on my own without getting lost.

I voiced my concerns to Carmilla, who just replied, "You get used to it, Cutie."

When we got to the cafeteria, Carmilla led me to a table near the back of the room. "Stay here," she ordered. "I'll get us food, Cupcake."

And then she disappeared into the sea of bodies and I was left alone at the table. I sat there awkwardly for a few minutes.

"Hey, there! You look kind of lost. Are you new?"

I looked up to see a tall girl with flaming red hair standing there.

"Oh, hi!' I stuttered. "Ummm… I'm waiting for- a friend, actually. She should be back in a few minutes. And, yeah… I'm new here."

"Oh, cool! I'm Danny. Danny Lawrence."

"Laura Hollis," I replied.

"They finally found you?"

I nervously tucked my hair behind my ear. "Um… yeah. It seems so. Apparently, they've been looking for me for the last few months."

"Yeah," Danny said cheerfully. "But you're here now! And, hey, if you ever need help with anything… you can just ask me, ok?"

I smiled at her. "Ok. Thanks!"

She smiled back. After a few seconds, the smile faded from her face and was replaced with a scowl. I turned to see Carmilla walking toward us. She was glaring at Danny with narrowed eyes. Carmilla set down two trays full of food on the table and came to stand behind me. All the while, never breaking eye contact with Danny.

She put her hands on my shoulders and continued glaring at Danny. "Xena," she said coldly.

"Elvira," Danny replied, her voice just as icy as Carmilla's.

I looked between the two in confusion. _What is going on?_

"What are you doing here?" Carmilla snarled.

"I could ask you the same."

"I'm with Laura," Carmilla replied simply. Her grip on my shoulders tightened a little bit. I swear, I saw Danny's eyes flash a bright cold for a second

My eyes widened a little and I subconsciously moved a little closer to Carmilla.

She stepped a bit closer to me, so that there were only a few inches between us. I heard a growl come from Danny at the action and I bit my lip. Carmilla was so close to me, I could feel the heat from her body. it felt… nice.

 _Shut up, Hollis!_ I told myself. _This is no time for you to be focusing on your squishy girly feelings. This is serious!_

I could feel the tension between Carmilla and Danny as if it were another body in the room. They were still glaring at each other, eyes locked and unwavering.

Suddenly there was a yell from across the café: "Hey, Danny! Come here!"

Neither of the girls turned to look. They were still fully engaged in their intense glaring contest. "Your pack's calling you, Xena," Carmilla snarled. "Better go before they come running."

Danny's eyes narrowed even more—if that was possible—and she glared at Carmilla for a few more seconds before turning and walking away. Carmilla continued to watch her go until she disappeared into the mass of people and was out of sight. Only then, did her grip on my shoulders loosen and her body relaxed. She sat down beside me, closer than usual for two friends. Not that I minded…

She slid one of the trays on the table towards me. "Dig in, Creampuff."

I looked down at the tray. There were some chicken nuggets, a few spoonfuls of mac n' cheese, a pint of chocolate milk, and… a cupcake.

I chuckled. "Thanks, Carm."

"You're welcome," she mumbled around a spoonful of mac n' cheese.

We proceeded to eat in silence. After a few minutes, I said. "Carm?"

"Yeah, Cupcake?"

"What was that? Between you and Danny?"

Carmilla was silent for a few moments. Then she looked at me. "Danny's… She's a werewolf."

"And you're a cat." I said thoughtfully. "So… is it, like, a cat versus dog thing between you two?"

Carmilla laughed. 'That's part of it, I guess. We never got along. Xena started here in 4th grade. That's how we met. We were in the same class and ever since we then, we've disliked each other. It turned into hatred over the years due to… certain occurrences that I'd rather not revisit at the moment."

I narrowed my eyes in confusion, trying to make sense of this newfound information. There was something Carm wasn't telling me.

As if reading my thoughts, Carmilla sighed and said, "It's a long story, Creampuff. Better left for another day."

I nodded, not pressing her any further. She'd tell me when she was ready.

* * *

After lunch, Carmilla showed me some of the around some more. She showed me the auditorium and the gymnasium. She took me to the dorms, though we didn't really go inside.

"You'll be assigned a room soon." Carmilla said. "For now, you can stay with me, I guess."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" she asked.

"You're asking me to move in with you? We haven't even known each other for a full twenty four hours," I joked.

"Well, Cupcake, Desperate times, desperate measures. Besides, it's only temporary." She smirked. " Though, we could always make other arrangements…"

I smacked her shoulder playfully. "Shut up," I said, laughing.

After the dorms, Carmilla took me to a balcony where we had a clear view of the courtyard. There were tons of students there—eating at the picnic tables, relaxing in the shade of the giant oak tree in the center of the courtyard. Some huddled in small groups and discussed the latest gossip. There were even some students who were practicing their powers.

I loved the courtyard from the moment I layed eyes on it. It was like the heart of Silas University, where the students could just… be themselves. They could hang out with friends and not have to worry about accidently showing their powers. They could be in peace. That's something you don't get in society, especially if you're a power.

I'll admit I was nervous about starting at Silas. And I was nervous about telling my Dad what had happened and I was nervous—probably most of all—to learning the truth about my mother and who she really was. I was nervous about a lot of things. But as long as I had Carmilla at my side, I would make it through anything.

I looked over at Carmilla. She was watching the kids down in the courtyard. When she noticed me staring at her, Carmilla looked over at me. Her eyes met mine and she smiled. I smiled back at her and her hand found mine, interlaced our fingers. And we stood like that for a while, just enjoying the comfort of the other's presence. For the first time in the past 12 hours, I felt my body relax. I felt calm. I felt peaceful.

Well, I did. Until the alarms started going off.


	3. Chapter 3: From Bad to Worse

The alarms blared in my ears. "Is that… a fire alarm?" I asked, my voice shaking.

Carmilla's eyes were wide when they met mine. "No," she said. "It means there's Corvae in the building."

Carmilla's grip on my hand tightened and she started running down the hallway, pulling me along with her.

"Where are we going?" I asked her, confused.

"Somewhere safe," Carmilla replied.

"But shouldn't we be helping? I can't while everyone else fights for their lives, Carm!"

Carmilla stopped abruptly and I almost crashed into her. She whipped around to face me. "Laura," she said sternly. "Corvae is not because I murdered one of their agents. They're after you. That's why they're here."

I stared at her, dumbfounded. "Oh! Oh!"

"They couldn't care less who lives or dies." Carmilla looked at me, her expression unreadable. "All they care about is kidnapping you."

Without another word, she continued to drag me through the maze of hallways until we reached a heavy looking metal door. Carmilla typed a code into the panel on the right side of the door. I heard a click and the door slid open. Carmilla dragged me inside and the door slid shut behind us,

"Where are we?" I asked.

"A safe place."

"Ok, but _where_?"

"Must you ask so many questions: Carmilla snapped.

"Must you be so vague when you answer them?" I shot back. "I wouldn't have to ask so many questions if you'd just tell me what the hell is going on?!"

Carmilla sighed. After a few moments of silence, she said, "Corvae is after you. And, before you ask, I don't know why. I just know I was assigned to protect you. So I did. I watched you as you grew up. I tried my best to keep you safe."

I thought back to my childhood. Starting from when I was about six, I had seen a cat following me a lot. It was the same cat every time. It had pitch black fur and yellow eyes that shone bright like the stars in a night sky.

I had always felt comfort when it was near. I felt safe, like nothing could hurt me.

"You were the cat," I said.

"Yes."

"But… it was a house cat. Not a panther."

"I can choose different form," Carmilla explained. "But always a black cat."

I nodded.

"Anyway," Carmilla continued. "As you got older, you were put in more danger. When you were twelve, and I fourteen, my other assignments were dropped and I was told to protect you. Whatever the cost. And so, I became your Tracker. And I have been ever since."

"Does my father know" I asked. "About the Corvae trying to kidnap me?"

Carmilla nodded. "Yes. And…" she hesitated. "And he knows why."

I narrowed my eyes in confusion. "He knows?"

"Yes. We've asked him—I've asked him—several times, but he refuses to tell anyone. Even me."

"Why?"

"I… I think it has something to do with your- with your Mother."

I was about to respond when the sound of footsteps reached my ears. Carmilla stiffened. We stood, motionless.

I held my breath as the footsteps got closer. From the loud thud they against the floor, the person was wearing heavy boots.

The thudding got louder as the person got even closer. They… they stopped.

There was silence for a few seconds. Until the pounding started.

"Shit!" Carmilla exclaimed.

"What it is?!" I looked around frantically for a weapon, a door, anything.

'This way!" Carmilla grabbed my wrist and pulled me further into the room. We passed tons of locked wooden chests—what was in them, I didn't really want to know.

Carmilla continued dragging me through the room until we reached a door. She frantically started typing in a code.

"Come on! Come on!" she growled.

There was a beep and the door started to slide open. Carmilla pulled me through even before it was fully open.

We heard a humungous _BANG!_ And then we saw the door to the main room break open and fall to the floor with a loud _clang!_ What stood in its place, were at least a dozen Corvae agents. When the spotted us, they charged with a loud roar of rage.

Carmilla was already putting in the code and the door was slowly sliding closed. It shut just as the Corvae reached it. Immediately, they started pounding on the door.

Carmilla grabbed my wrist again. "Come on! It won't be long before they break through!"

Not waiting for a response, she started dragging me through a hallway dimly lit by torches on the walls.

"Where are we?" I asked, desperately trying not to trip over my own feet.

"We're in the secret tunnels," Carmilla responded, never slowing her fast pace. "They run down the entire school."

"Where are you taking us," I was breathing heavily now.

Carmilla slowed to a stop, her grip on my wrist never loosening. She turned to me. "I don't know, Laura. But as long as you're safe, that's all that matters."


End file.
